Odense - Denmark (13-16 June)

Our two hour train journey from Esbjerg to Odense was very relaxing.  The historic city of Odense is the third largest in Denmark.  The Danish trains are very comfortable, fast and always on time with free internet.  Our rail pass entitled us to travel first class so we were provided with coffee and snacks and had access to the station first class lounge, similar to the airline lounges.  We arrived at 5.10 pm and it was a short walk to the Hotel Ansgar where we caught up with my Innisfail friends, Joy and George Type and Narelle and Noel Kitto.  The hotel was very comfortable and in a good location, close to the town centre and train station. My Innisfail friends had hired a car and driven from Copenhagen to Odense.

Joy, Phil, George, Noel & Narelle

The next day, being a little overcast and cool, we decided to head out into the Danish countryside.  Joy picked out the lovely little seaside town of Kerteminde about 30 km north of Odense to visit.  We stopped along the way to look at a lovely old church which was built in the 1500’s.  The Danish are very proud of their historic Lutheran churches and their graveyards are beautifully maintained.  

Church on the way to Kerteminde

Danish Graveyard

Kerteminde Harbour

After a stroll around the town, and  a little shopping we found an old pub on the waterfront for a traditional Danish lunch of meat balls, fish cakes and potato salad washed down with a couple of excellent Danish beers.  We headed back to Odense around mid-afternoon and did a self- guided walking tour of the city, which took in Hans Christian Andersen’s house in the historic old town.  For dinner we found the cosy little sports pub, about a 10 minute walk from our hotel.  Here we were treated to traditional Danish food.  Another great day in Denmark.

Outside Hans Christian Andersen's House

The following day we had planned to travel to the island of Aero only to discover when we arrived at the Svendborg ferry terminal that the ferry was being repaired.  Not all was lost and we headed to the nearby Langeland Island, which was connected to the mainland by a bridge.  

Lunch on the island of Langeland

In the evening we caught up some more Danish friends, Karin and Nis.  Phil met Nis when he was involved with the Dalum (Odense) Agricultural College.  We had also stayed with Karin and Nis at their house in Tommerup, just outside of Odense.  We all returned to the sports pub for a final delicious Danish meal.

Dinner with Karin and Nis at the Sports Bar Pub

Fano Island - Denmark

Ipswich to Harwich - England

We dropped the hire car off in Ipswich which is approx. 43 miles from Harwich at 3.30 pm after getting a little lost finding Hertz.  The taxi ride to Harwich was an interesting one.  Our driver arrived in a flurry to the Hertz office.  Inside the taxi looked like a bomb had hit it.  The driver, an eccentric Englishman, had to stop for petrol and couldn’t get the driver side window up.  He then proceeded to spend 15 minutes getting the window up manually. Finally on our way, we suggested he do up his seat belt, only to be told that this was only needed for the passengers.  Phil said “so if we have a prang, we remain motionless and you hurtle out the window’.   His response to that was “yes”.  On arrival at Harwich, went to pay the fare, he opened the glove box and money dropped out all over the floor.  He didn’t seem too concerned.

On the Deck of the Dana Serina

Phil really excelled this time by booking us into “Commodore Class” on the DFDS ferry for our overnight trip to Denmark.  The cabin was huge (larger than on our cruise ship), grog and snacks were included and also free wi fi.  The Commodore lounge overlooked the back of the ship so it was very nice relaxing sitting there drinking champagne as we sailed out of Harwich at 6pm.  We had a good night’s sleep and arrived in Esbjerg, Denmark at 1pm.

Our cabin

 

Fano Island - Denmark

We were greeted by Ove and Else-Marie, waving Australian flags.  What a lovely start to our stay in Denmark.  Off this ferry and onto a smaller one for the 12 minute journey to beautiful Fano Island where Ove and Else-Marie live.  Fano is the most western point of Denmark with a population of around 3000 people.  The island has a tough seafaring history, the Danes are great seafarers.  We stayed in Ove and Else-Marie’s 200 years old summer house with a thatched roof.  It was very quaint and comfortable with a kitchen and bathroom downstairs, living/bedroom upstairs and a lovely little courtyard at the side of the house.

Else-Marie Marilyn, Ove at their summer house where we stayed

Ove hired bikes for us and after a light lunch, it was off to cycle and explore the village of Nordby which is where the ferry comes into the island. Nordby has narrow little lanes, lovely little thatched cottages with small colourful gardens.  Cycling around the narrow lanes was fun and I didn’t fall of the bike once.  We cycled down to the beach where Phil and Ove explored the WW2 German bunkers which stretch across the island. 

Heading off to explore

Ove and Else-Marie’s house is next to a small crepe restaurant and their garden adjoins the garden of the restaurant.  We were sitting in the garden listening to a group of local singers singing sea shanties in Danish.  We applauded and when we mentioned we were from Australia, they immediately said “South Australia?”.  As most know, Phil is from Adelaide.  They then sang a hearty rendition of the sea shanty “We’re bound for South Australia”, which Phil had learnt as a child.  This was a delightful welcome. There is a close connection between South Australia with the Danish clipper ships of the late 1800’s picking up grain from Adelaide and Wallaroo.

The following day, Ove took us for a16 km (the length of the island) drive along the beach.  It was a very windy day and there were lots of people on the beach getting ready for the worlds largest kite  festival.  I have never seen so many different kites of all shapes and sizes, very colourful.  We had a delicious lunch at a very old Inn  in Sonderho which is an old sailing village at the most northern tip of the island.  We also visited a very nice art gallery and local museum.

Kites of all shapes and sizes

All shapes!!

On the Monday morning we had a sleep in, relaxed and after a traditional Danish hamburger lunch, we walked down to the small marina where some local children from about six years old were learning to sail.  This was very interesting, particularly being a windy day and things got a little tricky with a few mishaps.  However, the sailing skills were spectacular in the squally conditions.

We loved the wonderful traditional Danish meals that Else-Marie prepared for us, complemented with great wine and schnapps. 

Ove and Else-Marie took us on the ferry back to Esbjerg and to the railway station for our two hour trip to Odense.   It was a wonderful couple of days.  We wished that we could have spent a little longer there.  I should have mentioned earlier, Phil met Ove first met in 2001 when he was with the Queensland Government Trade Office and visited Denmark to work on an agricultural training project.  Ove later stayed with us when he visited Australia.

Lincoln - Wakefield England

Lincoln

After the YHA London and Eastbourne bunk beds, our bed at the Lincoln Holiday Inn was sheer luxury.  A great room overlooking the car-park and not the river, but we weren’t complaining.  A sunny afternoon, so we headed off to explore this beautiful and historic town.

Lincoln Cathedral

The next morning it was further exploring of the little shops that lead to the magnificent 13^th century Lincoln Cathedral and back into the shopping mall area where a jazz/blues band was belting out toe tapping tunes to an appreciative audience.  In the evening we had a great dinner in an Italian restaurant.

Jazz Band in Lincoln's main street

Old town - Lincoln

The next morning after a hearty English breakfast, it was back on the road to Yorkshire.

Wakefield

We arrived in Wakefield around 4.00 pm with only one wrong turn.  Making a wrong turn on the English motorways can be death by a thousand cuts and send you heading toward Bulgaria.  However, Marilyn’s map reading skills again saved the day.

Wakefield, like many Yorkshire towns, has a mining and milling history, but is now an attractive service town.

Our host for our five day stay was Tom Reynolds, who I taught with at a university in China.  Tom, as always, was a great host and cooked us some wonderful English meals including roast beef and fish pie - decilious.  We also caught up with Georgie, one of the students from our Nanchang University, who is now working for Deloitte in Leeds.

During our stay in Wakefield, Tom took us to the Hepworth Gallery, which had opened a couple of weeks before our arrival.  This magnificent gallery highlights the work of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, both local artists/sculptors of international renown.  We also visited the Yorkshire sculpture park.  This is a magnificent property of informal gardens and sheep pasture, about 20 minutes outside of Wakefield.

Sculpture Park

Sheep grazing in the Sculpture Park

Phil and Thomas

Of particular note was our visit to Haworth, the Bronte sisters village.  After a pleasant afternoon exploring this historic area, we received a very nasty surprise, our car had been clamped, a common occurrence in the UK.  Not a nice experience, nearly led to a diplomatic incident and murder in our minds, and 90 pounds to have our car released.  However, a story for another day.

We also caught up with Toms son, John and his wife, Sally together with his daughter, Claire, her husband Andrew and their daughter, Hetty.  Here we had a great dinner at their 300 year old converted mill house, just outside of Leeds.

Sadly we bid farewell to Tom and Georgie, his hospitality and cooking.  It was on the road again and the long drive south to Harwich and the ferry to Denmark.

Eastbourne - Sussex England

We left our London hostel, caught the Tube and picked up our hire car at Marble Arch. 

Leaving YHA London

The trick was to get out of London on the ring route and head south to Eastbourne.  Again, Marilyn’s expert navigation got us onto the M25 and heading to the south coast without any trouble.  Marilyn loves maps, even navigating a shopping centre car park requires a topographical map.  I follow directions out of sheer curiosity.

A couple of hours later we reached the outskirts of the village of Eastbourne.  Little did we know it’s a city of 100,000 people;  a minor error on my part.  The next trick was to find the hostel and Marilyn without a map is a fish out of water.  After asking directions of the friendly locals and a few missed turns, we arrived at the Eastbourne YHA. 

View from YHA looking towards Eastbourne

A great little spot, but bunk beds and I was smartly ordered to the top bunk.  The hostel had a self- catering, commercial kitchen, so it was off to the local supermarket for supplies.  We then headed to one of the local pubs, the Lamb, built in the 1600’s, for a sustaining pub meal.  What a great little place, wooden beams, bric a brac from the past few centuries and friendly staff.

Phil - Seven Sisters walk

Lighthouse at Beachy Head

The next day it was an early breakfast and off to explore the beautiful Sussex countryside.  Our first hike was along the spectacular coastline of the South Downs Way, which is part of the South Downs National Park.  This stretches from Hampshire to the white, chalk cliffs of Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, a distance of 160 km.  It also includes 20 km of heritage coastline, the iconic cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head.  Heading off from Beachy Head, we walked about 8 km to Birling Gap.  Not an overly strenuous walk, but a good test of the cardio.  Feeling a bit peckish, we walked another 2 km to the beautiful little village of East Dean and another great pub lunch at the 300 hundred years old Tiger Inn, a former drinking spot for smugglers and pirates, many were still at the bar. 

Village of East Dean and the Downs

After suitable sustenance, we asked a local lady about the bus timetable back to Beachy Head. She kindly drove us back to our car. 

A well earned wine

A sunny morning greeted us.  After breakfast we drove to the Seven Sisters Country park to start our trek.  We followed the Cuckmere River to the coast and walked the coastal cliffs known as the Seven Sisters to Birling Gap, about 12 km and of course another country pub meal at the Galleon Hotel.

Marilyn dodging the incoming tide and the Cuckmere River

Exhaustion

Chalk cliffs  - Beachy Head to Birling Gap

 It was then a short drive to the historic village of Alfriston and back to the hostel for a gourmet meal of packet soup.

Another sunny day and it was off to Friston Forest for more hiking.  This is a huge forest, perfect for walking, orienteering and horse riding.  We hiked for two hours (about 10 km), up hill and down dale without getting lost on the vast network of tracks. 

Friston Forest

The Forest Nymph

At the end of our trek, we headed to the little village of Jevington and the 400 years old, Eight Bells Pub and another great lunch. 

The Eight Bells Pub - Jevington

Later in the afternoon, we returned to Eastbourne and a walk along the very attractive seafront, however, not quite the attractive beaches as in Australia; pebbles of various sizes to challenge the hardy English beach goers.

Eastbourne Pier and beach

Icecreams by the seaside

The next day we farewelled Sussex and headed north to Lincoln.  We loved this part of southern England; the beautiful and rugged coastline and it’s ancient history of Celtic tribes, medieval villages and Norman Towns.  What particularly impressed us was the genuine warmth and hospitality of the locals, always ready to chat, particularly once they identified us as Australians.  One of our great experiences was to meet a local and his daughter with their Border Collie at the Tiger Pub and chat for a couple of hours.  They had been taking their dog for a walk and stopped off for a pint.  We also found that just about everyone we spoke to had been to Australia or had relations living there.

We drove toward London on the country roads, through Sussex and the garden county of Kent and then onto the London ring route, the M25.  England’s roads are always congested and the drivers not all that flash.  At 4.00 pm we arrived at the beautiful city of Lincoln and the Holiday Inn on the Brayford Wharf, a perfect location.

London

We caught the Leonardo Express train from Rome Termini to the airport.  The trip took about 40 minutes and was a great way to see the suburbs.

On the train to Rome airport

Spent a restful hour in the BA lounge before our flight, which landed at Heathrow, Terminal  5; very impressive and easy to find the Tube for our trip into London on the Piccadilly Line to Kings Cross.  A warm sunny day greeted us in London.  Also, bit of good luck at Heathrow as when we went to purchase a ticket from the vending machine, a young couple gave us their day pass  which they no longer needed and was still valid, saved us around 10 pound.  It’s about an hour journey to Kings Cross station and a short walk to the YHA in Euston Road and opposite the magnificently restored St Pancras station.  Back to basics on the accommodation side after being spoilt in Florence, the five star cruise, and the farmhouse in Tuscany and our Rome hotel. The Youth Hostel was comfortable and clean, however, Marilyn was not impressed with the bunk beds, even though we had our own room and an en suite.  My online booking was for a double room, thinking of course either a double bed or two singles.  Guess who drew the short straw and was allocated the top bunk, it wasn’t Marilyn.

Found a great little pub, the Settlers Arms, about five minute walk from the hostel.  It was the typical old London local with pub grub for dinner, cheap and filling.

Phil enjoying a Guiness at the Settlers Pub

Day two in London and the weather had turned cold, wet and miserable.  Walked to the local shopping centre and stocked up on a few supplies to keep starvation and thirst at bay.  Found another cosy pub, the Boot.  This was also our watering hole in 2006 and is mentioned in Charles Dickens novel “Barnaby Rudd”, so lots of history and atmosphere in this little place.  Had a roast lunch here, five ponds ninety five pence, for the most tender roast lamb and beef and mixed vegetables all washed down with Guinness and wine, all around 18 pounds ($22).

The next day was still cold, but the rain kept away, so it was on the Tube to the Chelsea Flower Show.  What a magnificent show for garden and flower lovers and the place was packed.  This was one of the highlights of our London visit.  The Australian garden, put together by the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens, was excellent and attracted much attention.  The Japanese garden was also spectacular.  There were many unusual and interesting gardens designed to reflect the varied nature of the English countryside, together with international gardens.  This was an absolute delight.  We left the flower show and took our time wandering through the very up-market Chelsea and then back to the hostel.  Feeling thirsty, we made our way to the Champagne Bar at St Pancras Station, indulged ourselves with a glass of champagne, and got chatting to a couple from Belgium who had just spent a week travelling Scotland on the Royal Scotsman train.  Sounded like a wonderful trip - added this to our future travelling wish list.

Japanese garden

Smelling the roses - Chelsea Flower Show

Champagne Bar - St Pancras

Saturday we went on a free walking tour of the western side of London, which included Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, St James Palace the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  A cold day, but a very interesting and caught up on the old history lessons. The Australian War Memorial is located in Hyde Park. It’s quite large but not particularly impressive.  Interestingly, it lists all the cities and towns of Australian service men and women who lost their lives during WW1 and 2.  In the evening we saw the Jersey Boys at a West End Theatre, the intimate Prince Edward.  This is the story and songs of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  Wow! What a show and a great night.

Oh what a night!  Jersey Boys - West End London

We then battled our way home on the Tube, which was full of football fanatics returning from the Manchester United Barcelona Game, a scary but interesting trip home.

Checking the time at Big Ben

Sunday was rest day for Marilyn who was sick with a cold.   I wandered Euston Road and Russell Square, a very quiet day.  The next day it was another tube trip to Marble Arch to pick up our hire car for our trip to East Sussex and Eastbourne. 

Next post from Sussex.